Minuteman FAQ (One Response)

The decision has been made by the Minuteman School Committee to construct a new building at a total cost of $144,922,478 million. The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) has committed to funding up to $44,139,213, the district must borrow the balance.

Pursuant to M.G.L. Ch. 71, Sec. 16(d), which describes the powers and duties of a school district, the district may authorize borrowing of capital funds in two different ways:

First,the member towns may “…hold a town meeting for the purpose of expressing disapproval of the amount of debt authorized by the district committee and if at that meeting a majority of the voters present and voting express disapproval of the amount authorized by the district committee, the debt shall not be incurred…” At Belmont’s May 4th, 2016 Special Town Meeting to consider the issue, Town Meeting voted 141-81 against issuing the debt.

The decision was then made by the Minuteman School Committee to “…hold an election in the member communities to authorize debt for the purposes of building a school building by a majority vote…” pursuant to M.G.L. Ch. 71, Sec. 16(n). The election will be held from noon-8:00pm on September 20, 2016?

Why can I only vote from noon-8:00pm on September 20, 2016?

The communities are limited by statute to keep the polls open for eight hours. Pursuant to M.G.L. Ch. 71, Sec. 16(n), the district may hold an election in the member communities to authorize debt for the purposes of building a school building by a majority vote but: the hours during which all the polls in the district are open shall be uniform throughout the district and shall be not less than four nor more than eight consecutive hours.

How much will the new building cost?

The new building is projected to cost up to $144,922,478 of which the MBSA will contribute a grant of up to $44,139,213.

How will the cost of the new building be distributed to the different communities?

The debt service costs for the proposed new school would raise per student assessments by $8,463 per student based an equal share paid by all students based on full projected enrollment. DESE has the power to add a capital assessment to the fees paid by non-member communities, but it has never been done before so there is no precedent to see how DESE would allocate the cost (but see for one possibility603 CMR 4.03 (6)(b)4.c).

How much does it cost member communities to send a student to Minuteman?

For member communities cost per student varies based on enrollment, transportation and other factors. A full breakout of costs can be seen on pages 34-36 of the FY17 budget book, which is the basis for the per pupil cost chart below:

Acton

Total FTE Students

Total Assessment

Assessment/Students

2017

33

$ 997,655

$ 30,231.97

2016

30

$ 925,545

$ 30,851.50

2015

26

$ 760,052

$ 29,232.77

2014

21

$ 686,980

$ 32,713.33

2013

30

$ 801,938

$ 26,731.27

Arlington

2017

120

$ 3,649,349

$ 30,411.24

2016

152

$ 4,010,950

$ 26,387.83

2015

165

$ 3,788,615

$ 22,961.30

2014

138

$ 3,336,935

$ 24,180.69

2013

139

$ 3,022,146

$ 21,742.06

Belmont

2017

26

$ 795,654

$ 30,602.08

2016

31

$ 831,520

$ 26,823.23

2015

31

$ 751,046

$ 24,227.29

2014

34

$ 851,984

$ 25,058.35

2013

41

$ 940,000

$ 22,926.83

Bolton

2017

9

$ 398,810

$ 44,312.22

2016

10

$ 428,949

$ 42,894.90

2015

11

$ 385,740

$ 35,067.27

2014

10

$ 357,347

$ 35,734.70

2013

10

$ 341,165

$ 34,116.50

Boxborough

2017

7

$ 197,492

$ 28,213.14

2016

5

$ 165,341

$ 33,068.20

2015

5

$ 147,254

$ 29,450.80

2014

6

$ 177,557

$ 29,592.83

2013

8

$ 227,929

$ 28,491.13

Carlisle

2017

5

$ 173,559

$ 34,711.80

2016

8

$ 226,284

$ 28,285.50

2015

12

$ 327,520

$ 27,293.33

2014

9

$ 246,153

$ 27,350.33

2013

7

$ 190,231

$ 27,175.86

Concord

2017

17

$ 423,444

$ 24,908.47

2016

16

$ 407,041

$ 25,440.06

2015

7

$ 191,689

$ 27,384.14

2014

9

$ 227,033

$ 25,225.89

2013

18

$ 437,910

$ 24,328.33

Dover

2017

2

$ 75,016

$ 37,508.00

2016

3

$ 91,149

$ 30,383.00

2015

1

$ 37,798

$ 37,798.00

2014

2

$ 67,530

$ 33,765.00

2013

2

$ 60,573

$ 30,286.50

Lancaster

2017

39

$ 1,000,558

$ 25,655.33

2016

32

$ 964,837

$ 30,151.16

2015

27

$ 699,343

$ 25,901.59

2014

22

$ 348,294

$ 15,831.55

2013

19

$ 560,764

$ 29,513.89

Lexington

2017

57

$ 1,377,449

$ 24,165.77

2016

52

$ 1,172,735

$ 22,552.60

2015

52

$ 1,244,385

$ 23,930.48

2014

60

$ 1,474,265

$ 24,571.08

2013

63

$ 1,407,978

$ 22,348.86

Lincoln

2017

11

$ 239,876

$ 21,806.91

2016

6

$ 150,973

$ 25,162.17

2015

6

$ 138,243

$ 23,040.50

2014

4

$ 99,012

$ 24,753.00

2013

4

$ 95,655

$ 23,913.75

Needham

2017

25

$ 766,061

$ 30,642.44

2016

24

$ 650,010

$ 27,083.75

2015

35

$ 893,211

$ 25,520.31

2014

27

$ 733,961

$ 27,183.74

2013

34

$ 777,052

$ 22,854.47

Stow

2017

13

$ 577,577

$ 44,429.00

2016

19

$ 618,679

$ 32,562.05

2015

22

$ 657,205

$ 29,872.95

2014

26

$ 766,081

$ 29,464.65

2013

23

$ 620,008

$ 26,956.87

Sudbury

2017

25

$ 623,943

$ 24,957.72

2016

25

$ 694,383

$ 27,775.32

2015

22

$ 543,451

$ 24,702.32

2014

17

$ 444,836

$ 26,166.82

2013

11

$ 274,416

$ 24,946.91

Wayland

2017

2

$ 93,215

$ 46,607.50

2016

4

$ 109,056

$ 27,264.00

2015

9.5

$ 203,027

$ 21,371.26

2014

9.5

$ 212,417

$ 22,359.68

2013

11.5

$ 257,221

$ 22,367.04

Weston

2017

5

$ 122,810

$ 24,562.00

2016

3

$ 91,498

$ 30,499.33

2015

4

$ 110,127

$ 27,531.75

2014

4

$ 104,311

$ 26,077.75

2013

3

$ 81,925

$ 27,308.33

How much does it cost a non-member communities to send a student to Minuteman?